Horizon Discovery and Abcam have partnered to give Abcam exclusive access to over 1,800 human diploid and haploid cell line models from Horizon’s X-MAN® collection to aid the functional validation of Abcam’s existing monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies. Horizon will also develop additional haploid cell lines to validate new antibodies introduced by Abcam.
The data generated by Abcam will be useful to Horizon as evidence that the cell lines demonstrate the desired functional output of gene editing. In addition, the new cell lines generated for Abcam will be available to customers across all of Horizon’s core products and services.
Under the terms of the agreement, Horizon will receive exclusivity payments totaling £660,000 ($755,000) across an initial three year term, with a further £1,275,000 ($1,473,000) across years four to six if Abcam extends the exclusivity period. In addition, Horizon will receive a royalty on the sale of Abcam antibodies marketed using validation data derived from Horizon cell lines for a period of 10 years from the first date of sale.
Beyond the initial term of the agreement there is scope to extend the collaboration to cover the complete human proteome (17,000+ targets), and the potential to co-develop novel functional genomics products and services with Abcam.
“This agreement represents significant progress for Horizon in creating new and scalable channels to market for its cell line products. Abcam’s choice of Horizon’s cell lines to support the development and quality control for their antibody catalog further validates the value that our cell lines can provide in a variety of applications. We believe that this agreement represents the first step in building a long term relationship with a true world-leader in the research antibody field,” Paul Morrill, president, products, Horizon Discovery Group, said in a statement.
